A Critical Review of “Accountability: Where do Teacher’s Fit?” by Lorna Earl

and “Accountability in Education” by the Alberta Teachers Association

Article Links:

https://webct2.brocku.ca/webct/RelativeResourceManager/Template/PDF/LornaEarlArticle.pdf

https://webct2.brocku.ca/webct/RelativeResourceManager/Template/PDF/AlbertaTeachersPaper.pdf

After reading both Lorna Earl’s paper and the Alberta Teacher’s Association document, these helped shape my own ideas about the notion of accountability. This issue has been a hot-button for both educators and public officials, and it continues to create controversy in today’s evolving education system.

The Alberta document was lengthy, and rather laborious to read; the information proved to be intensely thought provoking, but also overwhelming. I found that the four questions of accountability were presented as “Who is held accountable? To whom? For what? By what means?” This echoed the questions raised by Earl. The section that provided a timeline of Accountability was interesting, but if one is not familiar with the School Act or the governments “three year plan” in 1994, it was a bit confusing to follow. The best sections of this paper are the ones that discuss the underlying issues of accountability as it applies to educators – issues like assessment that addresses the full range of education goals, the use of data as a means of improving the system, and other current concerns that are multi-provincial. It clearly articulated the problems and emerging context that an accountability system needs to take. My favorite assertion was the need for “Two-Way Accountability,” where public officials and politicians who call for accountability are scrutinized for their own support of the system; the spotlight should not simply be “what are the schools doing right/wrong?”

Earl’s piece provided an easier read for someone who is still forming an opinion on the issue. Her section on accountability and quality was illuminating; her list of what all teachers should be accountable for provided a lot of interesting fodder. Areas like content knowledge improvement, a call for deeper pedagogical and emotional understanding, as well as a chance for teacher-directed meta-learning are the key elements that all teachers mush account for. I was a bit critical of her following list regarding teachers forging accountability relationships; the idea of responding to parents needs and desires seems to be a wonderful ambition, but this in itself becomes the root of many issues educators have with accountability – involving parents is one thing, the frequency in reporting to them is quite another, and the opinions on this vary. How much is too much? Does frequent reporting (weekly, semi-weekly) set a dangerous precedent for a teacher?

In my own experience, my issues with accountability stem from the issue of parent involvement. I think parents are an integral part of the education process, but not all students have parents who are willing to participate, are easy to reach or communicate with, and sometimes provide more negative influence than positive. Our Ontario curriculum is pushing towards more and more transparency with grades and the marking process; our Board has mandated two Marksbook reporting periods in between the normal Mid Term and Final report card. As of next year, our marks may be available online, for parents to access at any time, any day. This goldfish bowl may seem ideal for accountability, but also puts more pressure of educators to defend their marking and their assignment choices.

In my opinion, the issues that worry me the most in terms of Accountability are the following:

The Failure Issue – If our marks are continuing to be more and more transparent, the bigger pressure for educators comes when the issue of Failures arises – if the mark is a 47%, and the educator needs to make a professional judgment, how will parent’s understand this is they disagree?

Special Needs – In the push for EQAO and standardized testing, where do these kids fit on? How does this affect the overall opinion of a school on paper by the public? If they are to be fully included, will this affect the overall result?

Misdirected Spending – An overall concern, not just an English concern. Much of the accountability issue must be considered as a two way mirror as the Alberta document proposed, and in my own School board, the use of funds is often directed towards areas that do not need immediate attention. Allocation of public money is something that many teacher take issue with, and if we are to be responsible for teaching in the school, some of how the money is used should be discussed among educators themselves, and not only public officials and board administrators.

Parental Accountability - Teachers are constantly asked to be accountable, yet if the true education of a child is a parent-community-adminstration-teacher project, why are parents not held accountable for their child's education? Should at least one teacher interview be a mandatory task for any and all parents or guardians? Could this help shed light on this problem for all sides involved?